tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post3043620194350967411..comments2024-03-25T09:03:39.020-07:00Comments on The Uncrushable Jersey Dress: Tulips For Augusta--1971Betty Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16446092401692468002noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-78008891547295293622023-01-03T13:08:55.407-08:002023-01-03T13:08:55.407-08:00Oh this is my new favourite Betty with surely the ...Oh this is my new favourite Betty with surely the most charming RDD and the most romantic speech in all of Neelsdom “I thought that if I stayed exactly where I was and thought about you, you might think of me too, for after all, you are the other half of me, are you not, dear Roly” - sigh.<br />Augusta and her Constantjin are both adorable and unlike many other Bettys, they seem to have had a chance to get to know each other quite well before the proposal. I predict a blissfully HEA.<br />Betty Late-than-never<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-36121971757687043132022-08-23T07:41:39.371-07:002022-08-23T07:41:39.371-07:00oh, how much very, very different Constantijn is f...oh, how much very, very different Constantijn is from the wretched, even abusive (good luck for your future, Nurse Pennyfeather, especially when you are no more beautiful while older) Ivo from 'The Fifth Day of Christmas' - I absolutely love him (Constantijn of course), sweet and honest :) you know, when I read a book, I usually see it in colours - here there are colours, warm and clear, but when I was reading TFDoCh, I imagined it first in white, then in black, and eventually in grey - there were not any other colours (even that was Christmas time!)<br />talking about Augusta - as a specimen of plain girls of Betty Neels, she has all the rights not to be sure that somebody like another specimen of RDD could fall in love with her (and there was Susan with all the tangle)<br />anyway, the story was OK, and Constantijn was super!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-34175739176323585162019-10-07T00:47:34.420-07:002019-10-07T00:47:34.420-07:00I am also re-reading all the Betty's and I cou...I am also re-reading all the Betty's and I couldn't agree with you more. I think the Great Betty really found her writing feet in the middle of all her books and that is where I really like to wander.Aussie Bettynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-39829774021490926972019-08-15T14:34:09.455-07:002019-08-15T14:34:09.455-07:00I am re-reading all of the Neels books in order an...I am re-reading all of the Neels books in order and was really surprised by this review. Augusta is awful. She never has anything positive to say as far as I can tell. Even when given flowers she acts completely ungrateful. I don’t know how much more obvious Constanjine could have been in his interest towards her. She was easily able to casually flirt with Archie so I don’t buy the theory she was traumatized by being called Roly. Lizziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13123231757913776424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-33176386429733620432016-10-18T11:14:42.278-07:002016-10-18T11:14:42.278-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.RBELURhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18137620565481748900noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-9326998262331825912016-10-18T11:12:21.251-07:002016-10-18T11:12:21.251-07:00I love Neels! First and foremost, what is wrong wi...I love Neels! First and foremost, what is wrong with being well built? Child or adult, they are the ones who can put in a lot of physical work. Stop feeling conscious of being heavy (of course not morbidly obese), but be strong, fit and healthy, outwork your competition!RBELURhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18137620565481748900noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-22612142448006704502013-11-17T06:45:00.560-08:002013-11-17T06:45:00.560-08:00Re-visting Tulips For Augusta again. I like how th...Re-visting Tulips For Augusta again. I like how this blogs makes me go back and see what I actually missed. :)<br /><br />I totally understand why Augusta doesn't really believe that Constantijn can love her. Being quite of a "Roly" myself when younger, one doesn't really get over it, in spite if the years are kinder after that. The fact that someone who is handsome and could have anyone else can & actually not want anybody else, is a great feeling. And it takes some time to get used to. <br /><br />Its hard to imagine how small senseless acts in childhood can affect us so, but in a way they do. The romance between them is lovely and C is totally awesome (And after those lyrics. *sigh)<br /><br />I think I prefer the books where there is wooing before the wedding than the MOC. It just seems so.. so right? Most MOCs (for me) seem so archaic? Was it really common in those time? I ask this as a curiosity being from the Gen Y. Crystal Caralaghhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15244398117743847138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-86241309080883824772010-12-18T12:06:39.693-08:002010-12-18T12:06:39.693-08:00I just reread our discussion from last spring. Ha...I just reread our discussion from last spring. Having re(re)(re)(re)(re)read <i><b>Damsel in Green</b></i> recently, I have to express my admiration for that book, specifically in the area of Hero With A Good Reason To Take It Slow and Heroine With A Good Reason To Assume The Worst.<br /><br />Admittedly, that book only works because Julius has all those cousins *and* the two houses, etc., but I would nominate it for a top five in Reasons It Takes So Many Pages To Sort It All Out.<br /><br />I Have To Stop With The Initial Caps Now.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-31124767953613317142010-12-18T09:18:39.589-08:002010-12-18T09:18:39.589-08:00Oh, Betty Francesca (may I call you that?), you ha...Oh, Betty Francesca (may I call you that?), you have to get this one.Betty JoDeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00552570070311742671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-23477494719180571992010-12-17T21:40:22.797-08:002010-12-17T21:40:22.797-08:00Darn!
This is one book I don't have!!!
Dar...Darn!<br /><br />This is <i> one </i> book I don't have!!!<br /><br />Darn!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-42845515065518030242010-04-03T20:50:22.697-07:002010-04-03T20:50:22.697-07:00Thanks, Betty Magdalen! How could I have missed i...Thanks, Betty Magdalen! How could I have missed it? I'm leaving now to spend more time on that page.Betty JoDeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00552570070311742671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-57698226729568051312010-04-03T05:55:53.055-07:002010-04-03T05:55:53.055-07:00Betty JoDee -- It's not his best headshot, but...Betty JoDee -- It's not his best headshot, but they have posted one <a href="http://everyneelsthing.blogspot.com/2010/02/youre-welcome.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>. That's not to say we couldn't have more....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-54689176165491189312010-04-02T20:39:31.676-07:002010-04-02T20:39:31.676-07:00Oooh, Rutger Hauer. Founding Bettys, can we have ...Oooh, Rutger Hauer. Founding Bettys, can we have a Rutger Hauer picture, pleeze, pleeze, pretty pleeze?Betty JoDeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00552570070311742671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-8914499291457495152010-04-02T19:19:46.151-07:002010-04-02T19:19:46.151-07:00None of *us* is a silly widgeon, if only because n...None of *us* is a silly widgeon, if only because none of us is 23. And I can assure all of you that I was a raving nutjob at age 23. At least Augusta was an accomplished nurse. (I was a "late summer flower" in so many way...)<br /><br />I think Constantijn is more in the Rutger Hauer/Ian Carmichael mode, with the brushed back pale blond hair... Jim Hutton was darker.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-67964638611066576882010-04-02T15:18:54.113-07:002010-04-02T15:18:54.113-07:00BTW - the last comment in my name was actually Bet...BTW - the last comment in my name was actually Betty Keira.Betty Debbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16446092401692468002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-55638117499245067692010-04-02T15:09:17.190-07:002010-04-02T15:09:17.190-07:00"Weenie if conciliatory" will probably b..."Weenie if conciliatory" will probably be on my headstone.Betty Debbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16446092401692468002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-74461431152515720542010-04-02T12:34:34.534-07:002010-04-02T12:34:34.534-07:00I never denied that I was a silly widgeon (particu...I never denied that I was a silly widgeon (particularly in my youth), just that I identified with her. I would hate to think that the condition would put me out of the running for handsome Dutch doctors.<br /><br />However, in the spirit of the weenie if conciliatory comments by Betty Keira posing as Betty Debbie:<br />"Let's hear it for Jim Hutton!" (could he have played Constantijn?--hmmm)Betty JoDeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00552570070311742671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-15432550922117449562010-04-02T11:10:47.732-07:002010-04-02T11:10:47.732-07:00Betty Keira here.
I think this is where we agree ...Betty Keira here.<br /><br />I think this is where we agree to disagree(Think Everard) lest we create an unbreachable schism resulting in pro-Augusta factions and other...;0)Betty Debbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16446092401692468002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-49209095792550407332010-04-02T09:55:09.355-07:002010-04-02T09:55:09.355-07:00Nope, not buying it. If she hadn't fallen in ...Nope, not buying it. If she hadn't fallen in love, then sure, she can distrust his every move. But she knows he's interested in her. She knows Susan's his ward. It's entirely consistent with the Betty Neels Code of Morality that the hero is allowed to have secrets and not tell the heroine. <br /><br />Once a Betty Neels heroine falls in love, she's in love. She doesn't believe it's requited, but she knows the hero to be an honorable man.<br /><br />Once a Betty Neels hero proposes marriage, it's a real thing. It may be a marriage of convenience; he may have reasons not to declare his love or consummate the union, but he always explains what he intends. Constantijn proposes Real Marriage (the one-bedroom kind) to Augusta and she accepts.<br /><br />Her love + his proposal = enough trust to think "He must have a good reason not to tell me about Susan. He's a good man and he wouldn't betray me. I'll wait to see what's going on before I jump to stupid conclusions."<br /><br />By contrast -- and no, this isn't a competition; all the books are special and unique and lovable in their individual ways -- Sarah in <b><i>Fate is Remarkable</i></b> really hangs in there until even she can't take it any more. But she's NOT told "yes, I thought about marrying [the other girl] for a while but it's over now"; in fact, she's passively allowed to believe her hero's been carrying the torch for 15 years.<br /><br />She's also five years older, which makes a difference. So, for me, Augusta is a silly widgeon.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-9590434442395326392010-04-02T08:40:48.880-07:002010-04-02T08:40:48.880-07:00I'm with the Founding Bettys on this one. A m...I'm with the Founding Bettys on this one. A man (for a man) can be flirting and courting and a young woman (remember she's not THAT old--and looking younger by the minute to me . . .), particularly from enormously different stations in life (she IS English, after all), and she doesn't quite believe what it going on. It wouldn't not be the first time rich guy plays with modest girl for jollies.<br /><br />I had been only friends with Professor van der Hertenzoon for a while before we had conversations (in abstract) that my Prince Charming would not only have to come after me but crash quite a few gates and scale quite a few walls before I was going to risk sticking my neck out. So before I was knew that he had a romance brewing, he was well aware of my risk-averse attitude and laid plans to siege the castle. (That's why I now laugh over the Jonkheer scaling the wall in "Henrietta's Own Castle.")<br /><br />Augusta asked him about Susan SEVERAL times. Tell her, you idiot! My guess is that he was still a bit unsure of Augusta and feeling embarrassed that Susan did this under his watch.<br />It all hangs well for me. Insecurity need not be a general state of being but rather circumstantial depending on the subject--at least it has always been for me.Betty JoDeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00552570070311742671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-77700704442861082872010-04-01T19:02:15.535-07:002010-04-01T19:02:15.535-07:00First of all, Mom, Dad, Brother Charlie AND Consta...First of all, Mom, Dad, Brother Charlie AND Constantijn need to stop calling her Roly. Then I think her mom could sit her down and have a "talk" with her.<br /><br />Betty Keira doesn't have a computer this weekend, so she's making comments over my shoulder. She says "Augusta was VERY pointed asking C. about Susan. She asked more than once - and was not really given a satisfactory answer. He does say that he had toyed with the idea of marriage to Susan a year or so ago - but that was over. But then he doesn't go on to explain why he's spending so much emotionally fraught time with her now. The conversation that Augusta overhears does not sound vague at all. Perhaps she shouldn't have accepted before having it all spelled out, but she had a fair amount of fairly hurtful circumstantial evidence piled up in short order."<br /><br />Betty Keira goes on to say that she thinks Constantijn is distracted and harassed but, pretty awesome. Period.Betty Debbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16446092401692468002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-59077211437209787852010-04-01T07:10:28.507-07:002010-04-01T07:10:28.507-07:00Yes, I get it. But, c'mon, Betty Debbie -- th...Yes, I get it. But, c'mon, Betty Debbie -- there are 134 of these books, and they share the same problem: Lovely hero meets kind/sweet/maybe pretty, maybe not pretty heroine and is either instantly smitten, or instantly smitten but doesn't realize it. She's perhaps annoyed/intrigued but eventually falls in love.<br /><br />As the hero is close to omniscient, the challenge is to keep them apart for 180 pages. Poverty, unreasonable family demands, and misunderstandings are usually the grist for Betty Neels' mill in this regard.<br /><br />Neels gave Augusta more evidence of the hero's regard than most of her heroines get: more kissing (of a non-avuncular sort!), more wooing, and an outright proposal. My problem isn't with Constantijn -- he's no better or worse than other Neels heroes -- but with Augusta (or, to be really honest, Betty Neels's portrayal of Augusta). Where's the faith?<br /><br />This isn't "miscommunication" because Constantijn has communicated pretty well except for not explaining why he's not explaining Susan. But who accepts a proposal and almost immediately assumes that the hero's on the verge of breaking that proposal? <br /><br />Someone insecure, that's who. And I don't like the implications of an insecure heroine. She may not be comfortable with the idea that someone that wonderful is really in love with her, but she shouldn't assume herself to be unlovable and then manufacture "facts" to fit that conclusion.<br /><br />So I don't think a single conversation with Constantijn fixes everything. I think Augusta also needs to be sat down by her mother and told to grow up and get a grip. She's being immature and silly. He deserves to marry a grown-up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-50561533812883492822010-03-31T18:49:43.970-07:002010-03-31T18:49:43.970-07:00Everything could have been solved with just a litt...Everything could have been solved with just a little two-way communication...but then we wouldn't have a story. <br /><br />Hero: I love you. Susan may be a homewrecker - but she won't wreck OUR home. <br /> <br />Heroine: I overheard a disturbing conversation. Was it about me?<br /><br />The End.Betty Debbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16446092401692468002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-13341978561237947312010-03-31T18:27:22.361-07:002010-03-31T18:27:22.361-07:00I don't think he really feeds her insecurity t...I don't think he really feeds her insecurity too much though. His original protestation of love was a little water-y and his proposal was also a little so-so and I think the end works because he tells her unequivocally tells her he loves her (--which even he was surprised he forgot. But there's no indication that he'll take any poor-mouthing of herself anymore.) <br /><br />I agree though that the love story is the okay part but the prose is just first-rate.Keirahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12334172370385784966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-88614626665681413012010-03-31T18:01:45.768-07:002010-03-31T18:01:45.768-07:00Okay, I hate to be the Little Cloud casting shadow...Okay, I hate to be the Little Cloud casting shadows over everyone's sunny bouquet of tulips, but Augusta annoyed me. (I just finished rereading it last night; better late than never.)<br /><br />He says he's more than a little bit in love with her, but she still has doubts. He woos her and she still believes the worst. He proposes marriage, she accepts -- and she still JUMPS at the chance to convince herself that he's going to dump her for Susan. Yeah, sure he should have said something (even just, "I know this looks odd, but trust me darling, I love you and only you and Susan is nothing to me. After all, she doesn't have carroty hair..."), but why doesn't Augusta ever believe he loves her?<br /><br />Because here's what really gets me. She loves him with all her heart, she tells him she does, he proposes, she accepts -- but she doesn't trust him. How can you love someone with all your heart and agree to marry that person but still doubt their honor, their heart, their commitment? What does "love" mean to Augusta?<br /><br />Put it another way, why was she so quick to assume her heart would be broken that she had to leap to that conclusion faster than she slid into the quarry?<br /><br />So I have to ask myself, why is the ending satisfying? Just because Augusta now knows about Susan? What about the next attractive woman to come along? Why am I supposed to believe that Augusta had reasonable doubts that have been completely satisfied and NOW she's going to trust him.<br /><br />Sorry. I'm done ranting now. Little Cloud-B-Gone.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com